cliff in washington. that concern might be showing up in the manufacturing sector. the feds said that in some places around the country, manufacturing was slowing down and actually contracting outright. but it said that hiring was up modestly most places and with the holidays coming up. it said that the outlook for retail sales was mostly upbeat. shep? >> shepard: what's with the sirens? is the place on fire? >> no. there is escort going out here from the white house. >> you don't have much clout there. >> the vice president apparently is leaving. >> shepard: he might as well. what will the fed do with today's report? it has a meeting in a couple of weeks, you know. >> this was okay report. more importantly it was not strong enough for the fed to back off stimulus programs keeping interest race very low for a long time and into the economy. at its meeting next month it is expected to reaffirm those policies. continue them. shep? >> shepard: peter barnes there at the firehouse. peter, thanks. president oba